AlaskaFlyerFan Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 http://www.tsn.ca/off-season-game-plan-philadelphia-flyers-1.502679 Off-Season Game Plan: Philadelphia Flyers By Scott Cullen The Philadelphia Flyers made the playoffs in their first season under new head coach Dave Hakstol, before losing to the Washington Capitals in the first round. Off-Season Game Plan looks at a Flyers team that has some promise, particularly as their defence injects more young talent. Philadelphia went 21-9-5 down the stretch to make the playoffs, but that was a bonus. They wisely didn't sacrifice future assets and, under the stewardship of general manager Ron Hextall, the Flyers have started to build up some organizational depth. They have some quality forwards, with room to supplement the strong core. Theirgoaltending is likely underrated. The defence is improving and could be really good in the near future, but how quickly that blueline group develops will go a long way towards determining how soon the Flyers can be considered real contenders. HOCKEY OPS/COACH Ron Hextall/Dave Hakstol RETURNING FORWARDS NAME GP G A PTS CF% RELCF% PDO OZS% ATOI 2016-17 CAP Claude Giroux 78 22 45 67 53.4 4.5 99.4 51.8 20:33 $8.275M Wayne Simmonds 81 32 28 60 52.8 3.4 99.4 47.7 17:14 $3.975M Jakub Voracek 73 11 44 55 52.9 4.3 99.7 50.6 18:35 $8.25M Sean Couturier 63 11 28 39 52.4 1.7 101.8 43.4 18:36 $4.333M Michael Raffl 82 13 18 31 54.0 3.6 101.5 52.8 14:18 $2.35M Matt Read 79 11 15 26 52.8 1.9 97.9 47.8 15:15 $3.625M Scott Laughton 71 7 14 21 47.2 -5.4 100.7 53.7 10:26 $863K Chris VandeVelde 79 2 12 14 46.0 -6.7 99.7 49.2 13:33 $713K Pierre-Edouard Bellemare 74 7 7 14 46.1 -6.1 98.9 49.3 13:34 $713K R.J. Umberger 39 2 9 11 45.8 -6.8 101.6 52.2 10:10 $4.6M FREE AGENT FORWARDS NAME GP G A PTS CF% RELCF% PDO OZS% ATOI 2015-16 CAP STATUS Brayden Schenn 80 26 33 59 50.9 0.2 102.0 52.9 16:54 $2.5M RFA Ryan White 73 11 5 16 46.6 -5.6 99.0 51.4 12:34 $800K UFA Sam Gagner 53 8 8 16 51.3 1.5 101.2 49.2 13:52 $3.2M UFA Nick Cousins 36 6 5 11 53.3 4.9 101.8 57.1 10:44 $843K RFA Jordan Weal 14 0 0 0 46.7 -8.3 102.1 54.3 9:22 $633K RFA Even coming off a season in which he scored 67 points in 78 games, his lowest points-per-game (0.86) since 2009-2010, Claude Giroux has more points than any player over the past five seasons. He might not command that level of respect, but he's an elite point producer who makes those around him better. Look no further than Wayne Simmonds, the 27-year-old winger who scored a career-high 32 goals and tied a career-high with 60 points last season. He's one of two players to score at least 100 goals and record 500 penalty minutes over the past five seasons. Simmonds is a beast on the power play, with his 42 goals with the man advantage over the past three seasons ranking third in the league (behind Alex Ovechkin and Joe Pavelski). Jakub Voracek is due for a bounce-back campaign. There's a strong chance that Jakub Voracek experiences a bounce-back season in 2016-2017, because despite generating a career-best 2.92 shots on goal per game, he managed just 11 goals, his fewest since his rookie season of 2008-2009. He's a big, skilled winger whoconsistently drives play, though he may not match previous production if he doesn't play consistently with Giroux, as he has in previous seasons. A top-flight defensive forward, 23-year-old Sean Couturier has a chance to contend for the Selke Trophy in the not-too-distant future, because he's already spent years going to work against the opposition's top lines. Couturier tied a career-high with 39 points last season, despite being limited to 63 games by injury. Complementary winger Michael Raffl produced a career-high 31 points last season, and has quietly put up strong possession numbers over the past couple of seasons. Matt Read's offensive production has dwindled in recent years, sinking to 26 points last season, yet he remains a useful player because he can move around the lineup and still deliver solid possession numbers. A first-round pick in 2012, 22-year-old Scott Laughton has made it to the NHL, but has just 27 points in 107 career games. Ideally, he would add some grit with at least a little skill - he has 30 points in 45 AHL games and scored 40 goals in 54 games during his last year of junior - to the bottom half of the Flyers' forward depth chart. 29-year-old Chris VandeVelde has been on the roster bubble throughout his career, but has managed to secure full-time employment, playing 151 games over the past two seasons. He played for current Flyers coach Dave Hakstol at North Dakota, but still figures to be in competition for a spot in the lineup. 31-year-old Parisian forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare has carved out a role as a checking forward, though given his minimal production (26 points in 155 games), hemay not warrant the ice time he's been getting. Veteran winger R.J. Umberger has faded into the background in Philadelphia, and appears highly likely to be bought out of the final year of his contract this summer. The five-time 20-goal scorer has managed just 11 goals in 106 games over the past two seasons. Brayden Schenn's production has steadily improved, reaching career-bests of 26 goals and 59 points last season. He spends most of his time on the wing now, but offers a nice combination of skill and physical play. Though he hasn't played much in his 47 career NHL games, Nick Cousins has been a solid possession player, and he could be ready for a bigger role as soon as next season. The Flyers acquired Jordan Weal from the Los Angeles Kings, as part of the Vincent Lecavalier and Luke Schenn trade. Although Weal has shown he can score in the AHL (139 points in 149 games over the previous two seasons), he barely saw any ice time with the Flyers last season. Philadelphia has traditionally been a big player on the free agent market. Their current cap situation could make that complicated, but if they can create room with buyouts and/or trades, it wouldn't come as a surprise to see the Flyers go after a quality winger like Milan Lucic or Andrew Ladd. RETURNING DEFENCEMEN NAME GP G A PTS CF% RELCF% PDO OZS% ATOI 2016-17 CAP Shayne Gostisbehere 64 17 29 46 50.6 -0.9 102.4 61.9 20:05 $925K Mark Streit 62 6 17 23 49.5 -2.0 101.0 47.5 21:52 $5.25M Michael Del Zotto 52 4 9 13 51.0 3.2 98.2 46.7 23:25 $3.875M Nick Schultz 81 1 9 10 46.3 -6.3 101.4 39.4 17:57 $2.25M Andrew MacDonald 28 1 7 8 48.4 -7.8 103.2 53.3 20:07 $5.0M FREE AGENT DEFENCEMEN NAME GP G A PTS CF% RELCF% PDO OZS% ATOI 2015-16 CAP STATUS Radko Gudas 76 5 9 14 53.2 4.9 99.4 48.9 19:51 $992K RFA Evgeny Medvedev 45 4 8 12 53.4 4.1 100.5 52.8 18:50 $3.0M UFA Brandon Manning 56 1 6 7 52.0 0.7 100.6 57.4 16:32 $625K RFA What can Shayne Gostisbehere do to follow up an outstanding rookie season? The future of the Flyers defence started to arrive last season and Shayne Gostisbehere was spectacular as a rookie. It's wholly unreasonable to expect him to score at the same pace, considering he shot better than 11% as a rookie, but his mobility, puck skills and ability to work the power play represented major upgrades to the Philadelphia defence. Not surprisingly, 38-year-old Mark Streit has lost a step, but that was pretty much expected when he signed a four-year contract with the Flyers three years ago. He's still smart enough and can handle the puck, but Philadelphia would probably be better off if Streit had few minutes cut from his workload. Wrist surgery ended Michael Del Zotto's season early, and he didn't score as much as he had earlier in his career, but he was quite effective while logging a career-high 23:25 per game before getting hurt. 33-year-old Nick Schultz has played more than 1,000 NHL games, and has blocked a lot of shots (340 over the past two seasons), but he spends an inordinate amount of time in his own end. At this point, he's probably a third-pair option. Buried in the AHL for much of the season, Andrew MacDonald was summoned back to the NHL after Del Zotto was injured, and he played more than 20 minutes per game for the Flyers. The trouble is, MacDonald still struggles in terms of possession and has four years left on a contract that brings a $5-million cap hit. A buyout might be logical, but that's a big cheque to write, and understandable if the Flyers aren't prepared to do that just yet. Radko Gudas walks a fine line, playing a physical game that borders on dirty, which naturally bothers his opponents, but he's not just some mindless hitter, he was quite effective while playing nearly 20 minutes per game last season. A physical defender who finally stuck as an extra on the Flyers blueline last season,Brandon Manning held his own when he was given the opportunity to play. He may not be more than a depth defenceman, but if the Flyers don't have room for him, surely another team would give Manning a chance. Following up Gostisbehere, the Flyers have a couple of excellent defence prospects that should be knocking on the door for NHL jobs next season. Ivan Provorov, the seventh overall pick last summer, should be ready to play and quite possibly play a significant role next season. Travis Sanheim, the 17th pick in 2014, had a terrific junior season and could also be NHL-ready. With this young blood coming, and a few more prospects in the pipeline, the Flyers' improvement on defence seems very likely to come with time. RETURNING GOALTENDERS NAME GP W L T SV% EV SV% 2016-17 CAP Steve Mason 54 23 19 10 .918 .934 $4.1M Michal Neuvirth 32 18 8 4 .924 .932 $1.625M Steve Mason continues to excel at even strength, as he has pretty much since arriving in Philadelphia. Over the past three seasons, only Carey Price has a better 5-on-5 save percentage than Mason. He struggles shorthanded but, on the whole, Mason provides above-average goaltending for the Flyers. One of the better backups in the league, Michal Neuvirth posted a career-high .924 save percentage in 32 games last season. For a Flyers team that made the playoffs by three points, getting outstanding production from Neuvirth made a significant difference. TOP PROSPECTS PLAYER POS. GP G A PTS +/- TEAM (LEAGUE) Ivan Provorov D 62 21 52 73 +64 Brandon (WHL) Travis Sanheim D 52 15 53 68 +15 Calgary (WHL) Travis Konecny C 60 30 71 101 +33 Sarnia (OHL) Samuel Morin D 76 4 15 19 -5 Lehigh Valley (AHL) Nick Cousins C 38 12 26 38 +13 Lehigh Valley (AHL) Robert Hagg D 65 5 6 11 -11 Lehigh Valley (AHL) Anthony Stolarz G 47 .916 Lehigh Valley (AHL) Nicolas Aube-Kubel RW 61 38 46 84 +38 Val d'Or (QMJHL) Oskar Lindblom LW 48 8 17 25 +3 Brynas (SHL) Radel Fazleev C 59 19 52 71 +17 Calgary (WHL) Mark Alt D 72 4 15 19 +11 Lehigh Valley (AHL) Merrick Madsen G 29 .931 Harvard (ECAC) Alex Lyon G 31 .936 Yale (ECAC) Taylor Leier LW 71 20 29 49 +2 Lehigh Valley (AHL) Mark Friedman D 42 6 17 23 +8 Bowling Green (WCHA) DRAFT 18th - Max Jones, Julien Gauthier, Luke Kunin FREE AGENCY The Flyers have approximately $63.0M committed to the 2016-2017 salary cap for 17 players. NEEDS One top-six forward, depth forwards, one defenceman WHAT I SAID THE FLYERS NEEDED LAST YEAR Two top-nine forwards, one top-pair defenceman, backup goaltender THEY ADDED Sam Gagner, Scott Laughton, Evgeny Medvedev, Brandon Manning, Michal Neuvirth TRADE MARKET Matt Read, Andrew MacDonald, Nick Schultz THIS IS THE TITLE OF THE TABLE LEFT WING CENTRE RIGHT WING Brayden Schenn Claude Giroux Wayne Simmonds Michael Raffl Sean Couturier Jakub Voracek Scott Laughton Nick Cousins Matt Read Chris VandeVelde Pierre-Edouard Bellemare Trevor Lewis Oskar Lindblom Corban Knight Colin McDonald Taylor Leier Brad Malone Jordan Weal LEFT DEFENCE RIGHT DEFENCE GOALTENDER Michael Del Zotto Shayne Gostisbehere Steve Mason Mark Streit Radko Gudas Michal Neuvirth Ivan Provorov Nick Schultz Anthony Stolarz Andrew MacDonald Brandon Manning Travis Sanheim Samuel Morin (projected line-ups include projected acquisitions) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 First thing 48 hours after the Stanley Cup finals buy out RJ...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FD19372 Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 Vandevelde is a STIFF. He brings absolutely nothing to the table. I'd rather try Taylor Leier out as my fourth liner in the pre-season, and see if he sticks. Trade Jake, Read and a couple of picks + and get a top line right wing. I'm as big a Simmonds fan as anyone, but he is not a top line RW. He's a REALLY good second line player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murraycraven Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 12 hours ago, FD19372 said: Vandevelde is a STIFF. He brings absolutely nothing to the table. I'd rather try Taylor Leier out as my fourth liner in the pre-season, and see if he sticks. Trade Jake, Read and a couple of picks + and get a top line right wing. I'm as big a Simmonds fan as anyone, but he is not a top line RW. He's a REALLY good second line player. nobody is going to trade for Jake w/ that contract and the way he played this year... Read is toast and really not sure you are going to get anything in return... give me a bag if pucks and call it a day for Read. He is done. RJ should be bought out the moment they are allowed - what a great deal that was for Hexy (jk) - absolutely hated the trade then and hate it even more now. Honestly, I think this is where you will start to see what kind of GM Hextall is... he has been handcuffed by the cap for a while now and will have some room to work with. For the most part I think he has done a good job but that Umberger deal was an absolute failure. He also signed Jake to an "elite" players contract before he needed to - Jake better earn that money moving forward or we are going to have another VLC type contract hanging around for years. Again, Hextall has done well with what he has been given but there have been 2 very bad (as it stands today) deals that he orchestrated and some good minor deals. It will be fun to watch.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojo1917 Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 7 minutes ago, murraycraven said: nobody is going to trade for Jake w/ that contract and the way he played this year... plus that would be a stupid move for the Flyers...just ****** incredibly stupid, and to this point Ron Hextall hasn't shown much stupidity. RJ Umberger for Hartnell notwithstanding. Look at Jake's production to this point in his career the numbers go the "right " way as in: they increase. Last year will prove to be an outlier, not a trend. Maybe he winds up being overpaid by a little, but I think he will be in the fair value range when all is said and done. You don't get better by getting rid of your good players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murraycraven Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 10 minutes ago, mojo1917 said: plus that would be a stupid move for the Flyers...just ****** incredibly stupid, and to this point Ron Hextall hasn't shown much stupidity. RJ Umberger for Hartnell notwithstanding. Look at Jake's production to this point in his career the numbers go the "right " way as in: they increase. Last year will prove to be an outlier, not a trend. Maybe he winds up being overpaid by a little, but I think he will be in the fair value range when all is said and done. You don't get better by getting rid of your good players. yeah... my expectations is that he bounces back this year as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howie58 Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 I see things in a positive vein. The question might be degree of patience Hextall exercises. Maybe he makes a splash on the trade front. Or maybe he allows picks to mature and goes for a stop-gap on the forward front. Our end-of-season upswing brought H-squared some room to maneuver. If they hadn't made the playoffs, that might have been different. Fans and management see a team on the upswing. It's anybody's guess on the trade front--would someone want one or more of our assets and give to get? We don't know the crystal ball on that. The only observation I'd make is about patience. A "patient" approach might not see any improvement next year. In fact, there might even be slippage. Teams will not take us lightly. That doesn't worry me. But some might wonder. Best, Howie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philly29 Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 On 6/7/2016 at 9:50 PM, FD19372 said: Vandevelde is a STIFF. He brings absolutely nothing to the table. I'd rather try Taylor Leier out as my fourth liner in the pre-season, and see if he sticks. Trade Jake, Read and a couple of picks + and get a top line right wing. I'm as big a Simmonds fan as anyone, but he is not a top line RW. He's a REALLY good second line player. Really 30+ goals does not warrant a player 1st line material in Simmonds really??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FD19372 Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 18 minutes ago, Philly29 said: Really 30+ goals does not warrant a player 1st line material in Simmonds really??? The way I look at it is this - your 1st line guys are depended upon to be your top skill players. Second line players can be dangerous offensively, but I look at Simmonds as a grinder who gets dirty, gritty, work your arse off type goals but not the pretty ones based on great skill which your top liners usually need to have as well. Again, Simmonds is a really good 2nd line player but not a 1st in my opinion. I hope he gets 50 goals next season and proves me wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philly29 Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 How doesn't 30+ goals prove you wrong? 50 goals huh...so he wont be just a 1st liner but he will be on the same plain if not higher then guys like Stamkos, Ovechin, Kessel...etc....? WOW tough crowd my peeps tough crowd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FD19372 Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 14 minutes ago, Philly29 said: How doesn't 30+ goals prove you wrong? 50 goals huh...so he wont be just a 1st liner but he will be on the same plain if not higher then guys like Stamkos, Ovechin, Kessel...etc....? WOW tough crowd my peeps tough crowd. They need more goal scoring out of him, G, Jake and everyone else on the team. I wasn't insulting or singling out Simmonds. The guy never takes a shift off, and is one of my favorite Flyers. Other players on the team should have his relentless work ethic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyercanuck Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 9 hours ago, FD19372 said: The way I look at it is this - your 1st line guys are depended upon to be your top skill players. Second line players can be dangerous offensively, but I look at Simmonds as a grinder who gets dirty, gritty, work your arse off type goals but not the pretty ones based on great skill which your top liners usually need to have as well. Again, Simmonds is a really good 2nd line player but not a 1st in my opinion. I hope he gets 50 goals next season and proves me wrong. Pittsburg has Crosby on one line, Malkin on another, Kessel on yet another. There's their top skill guys. Seems to be working alright for them. They'd love to have Simmonds on their top line. So would just about every other team in the league. The team that scores the most goals wins...not the prettiest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJgoal Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Simmonds was tied for 14th in goals in the NHL last season. He was two goals and 4 points off of Corey Perry's numbers - and I don't think anyone would say Perry isn't a top line player in the NHL. If there are only 13 players with better goal numbers than you, I think that says you're a first line guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Knut Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 6 hours ago, AJgoal said: Simmonds was tied for 14th in goals in the NHL last season. He was two goals and 4 points off of Corey Perry's numbers - and I don't think anyone would say Perry isn't a top line player in the NHL. If there are only 13 players with better goal numbers than you, I think that says you're a first line guy. I think the basic question is if this season's output is Simmer's ceiling or if there's more in him. He's obviously one of their premiere players but could he produce more? And by much more I mean 40+ (i.e. league elite). One way to get a quick few more goals out of him a year is to see him get caught up in the chippy stuff a little less, but I know he mostly does that because A) other teams bring it to him and B) Ain't many other guys on the Flyers to do it. HOWEVER, I think all those PIMs keep him off the ice way too much for such a valuable asset. Dude had 80 more PIMS than last year (more than twice as much). 80 more minutes across the season. I'm not sure he can or should be pressured to do more than he is for his game on the whole beyond that though. I think that is a different player. One we need, but a different one none the less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philly29 Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 I def think Simmonds could net more I mean this past year the Flyers really only had one line that was a scoring threat and Voracek had an off year also. So that being said opposing teams only had to fixate on one line which was the one Simmonds was on I am sure. So if the Flyers get more scoring depth and Vorachek plays to form I am sure that would make teams half to plan and focus more then on just one line so I would imagine that would free up Simmonds to score even more goals... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 On 6/7/2016 at 9:38 PM, OccamsRazor said: First thing 48 hours after the Stanley Cup finals buy out RJ...... BUMP!!!!! YES! YES! YES! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Yes for sure. Yes please no more forwards with their best days behind them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 ^^Ivan Provorov^^ I don't expect the starting lineup to change a lot. I was trying to find Ivan's jersey to add to the lineup. Also i'm not sure if Read can play on the 2nd line LW spot so i just plugged him in there to put him somewhere. I wonder if Weal could get a look at the 2nd line LW spot? http://www2.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/lines/34/philadelphia-flyers Just for fun is all....not set in stone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 Maybe the Flyers take a run at Jimmy Vesey. #fingerscrossed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyClarkeFan16 Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 Well, with Vatanen signing an extension with Anaheim and with Colorado saying they won't move Barrie, the options on defense are starting to dwindle, which hopefully means someone will bite on Streit having a bounce back year (which he seems to have after he suffers a major injury) and will want to talk deal. Even if the Flyers have to pay the bonus, being able to move Streit should really help things going forward. As for free agency this year, is it just me, or does anyone else think the top players are going to wait to see which team has the best cap situation and best chance of making the playoffs before anyone decides to sign anywhere? I mean, I don't see Eriksson re-upping in Boston, we all know Ladd isn't going back to Chicago and Boedker is going to take a run at free agency. I don't see any of them signing on the first day. Same with Stamkos. I really think agents are going to sit back and see what shakes out first. As for the draft, I'm expecting a ton of movement. I think teams with multiple picks in the first round are going to be extra busy and I see a team like Arizona really shaking things up and I see a team like Toronto also being a player. Add in Edmonton with their glut of young forwards and no defense and it's very possible those three teams are drastically re-made for opening night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlaskaFlyerFan Posted June 19, 2016 Author Share Posted June 19, 2016 12 hours ago, BobbyClarkeFan16 said: As for free agency this year, is it just me, or does anyone else think the top players are going to wait to see which team has the best cap situation and best chance of making the playoffs before anyone decides to sign anywhere? I mean, I don't see Eriksson re-upping in Boston, we all know Ladd isn't going back to Chicago and Boedker is going to take a run at free agency. I don't see any of them signing on the first day. Same with Stamkos. I really think agents are going to sit back and see what shakes out first. Historically, Isn't it exactly the opposite? Most of the big name FA sign on the 1st day and then the lesser players sign with teams that are trying to fill holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 I seen there were rumors that the Jackets were looking to move Fedor Tyutin. I wonder if they would would take Streit in a trade. Streit would cost more next 750K. And Tyutin only has two more years left at 4.5mill. He would give the Flyers some more toughness on the back end/size and they would get a little younger(6 years younger than Streit) and it would give them another vet signed beyond this upcoming season if they decide to not resign Del Zotto and let Schultz walk or trade him. He would give them a vet Dman signed for 17-18 because as of yet they only have Mcdud under contract for 17-18. Just a guess but Streit has a no trade clause and would have to agree to go there. So more or less a slow day pipe dream. So the blueline could look like this.... 16-17 Ghost-Del Zotto Tyutin-Provorov Schultz-Gudas 17-18 Ghost-XXXXX Tyutin-Provorov Morin-Gudas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howie58 Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 Occam: Howdy and I hope all is well. Two thoughts. One is our "friend" MacDonald. If he stays buried, he has no trade value. If he is buried, his max cap savings is $975K. Candidly, I don't care if he stays buried but is that an ongoing reality? How expansion factors into this is another question. I have to wonder if we keep stink bombs on board and hold off on promising juniors prospects as long as possible to make sure they're ineligible? That is sad. But having Provorov on board may have negative consequences. This is a heckuva chess game. The bottom line, sadly, is that we might put up with stilted growth next year to avoid painful loss for the future. Schultz, MacDud....yikes...but they may be place holders we want. And who knows, maybe a team struggling to hit the cap relieves us of MacDud. Probably wishful thinking.... Howie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 1 hour ago, Howie58 said: If he stays buried, he has no trade value. I'm afraid there is nothing you can do to give Mcdud any trade value. No one is touching his contract. So he isn't even of my concern. Take any saving you can from that and use it elsewhere if need be. The best chance if any is for him to be claimed in the expansion draft (and that is very well never going to happen) So bury him in Leigh. Next question? 1 hour ago, Howie58 said: But having Provorov on board may have negative consequences I can't see this besides a terrible injury. But i think this kid is ready nothing left for him to prove in juniors. And he would instantly become the 2nd or 3rd best Dman the instant he laces them up for the Flyers. Let's just have another solid year of growth and go from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegionOfDoom Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 If it protects Ivan from the second expansion team, have him stay in Leigh for another year. I actually would prefer the youth play together for a season in the AHL for a season or at minimum half a season so they learn together as a team and build some chemistry together with line combos and timing, so that when they jump to the NHL they increase their chance for success. As well as both AHL/NHL coaching staff meet together with the GM to talk about coaching, training, you know being On Board and on the same page as an Organization and letting the seedlets grow properly as its being watered in the nursery. We need to look at the long game and if we are gonna do it that way, Do It Right... Do it with the best possible return on Investment, if we're stuck in a farm...then start farming and farm th right way. The thing is Hakstol knows all about this and Hextall has learned to appreciate this in L.A. We Are setup really nice, you guys have no idea. We just need to stay the course we christened two years ago and show the stewardship to maintain the lines to touch rock. Of course if the prospects don't put in the work, then there's nothing we can do about it. That's why Hexy was so poignient about making the picks count, drafting the right players with the right mix of desire, skill, mental strength and talent that want to win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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